Wednesday, March 9, 2011

One of the many unfortunate side effects of the slowdown in the Dwimmermount campaign is that I don't haveany real cause to create new monsters, spells, magic items, etc. that I can then share with others. As a general rule, I don't create these things outside the context of actual play, as I don't really see the point in doing so. I know others enjoying creating for its own sake.

On the other hand, I do very much enjoy sharing those things I have created for the campaign and not having that outlet frustrates me a little bit (as does not having gotten together with friends to game in several weeks, but that's a topic for another time).

So, to scratch that itch, I'm offering up something that I created for the campaign but never had a chance to use -- a unique monster known as Father Wicked. Originally, I intended the PCs to encounter him while wandering around the sewers beneath Adamas while in the employ of the Rat Boss, but that never happened for a variety of reasons. As I imagined him, Father Wicked is the city-state's equivalent of the Bogeyman and I had some ideas for adventures about him and his origins. Perhaps one day I'll get around to using them. Until then, here are the stats I came up with for this sewer-dwelling nightmare.

The material in the quote box below is hereby designated Open Game Content via the Open Game License.

Legends claim that the creature known as Father Wicked was once an ordinary, if cruel, man, who abused and terrorized his children, who accidentally slew him in self-defense. Frightened by what they had done, the children dumped their father's body into the sewers, hoping it would never be found. Their hope was in vain, for somehow -- whether a curse by the gods or the will of demons, none can say -- their father's body returned to a semblance of life as a gigantic humanoid monster, standing 8' tall and covered with rotting vegetation and slime. The creature now roams the sewers, sometimes venturing onto the streets above to punish disobedient children and those adults who aid and abet their unruly behavior.

Immensely strong, Father Wicked bashes his opponents with both of his huge, tree trunk-thick arms. If he successfully strikes a target with both arms in a single round, the target has been grabbed and automatically suffers 2d8 points of damage per round from constriction until either the target is dead or Father Wicked dissolves from sufficient damage. Achieving dissolution is not easy, as Father Wicked suffers no damage from fire-based attacks. Likewise, he takes only half-damage from all weapons, electricity, and cold. If brought to 0 hit points, Father Wicked dissappears in a puff of acrid smoke, only to reform again in 1d10 days, leaving behind the treasure he has accumulated. Destroying him permanently is seemingly impossible, although rumors persist that he is particularly susceptible to a spear or stake carved from the wood of a tree he once cultivated in his mortal existence.

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